Oh wow is spring in the air or what?! I am totally loving it minus the sneezing and sniffles, but I will even take that after this awful winter.
Yesterday I got the chance to sleep in and have a nice big bowl of cereal and some awesome Cinnabon flavored coffee. While my husband was out I got to do one of my favorite things, clean. I am seriously not joking. If I go without cleaning our entire place for a week I start to go a little crazy. Right now we are staying in a studio apartment so cleaning time is pretty short, but I was still looking forward to it. There is one thing that I really like doing that sort of freaked my husband out the first time he saw me clean. I love scrubbing the floors by hand. I know, I know…I am a little crazy like that.
My husband had to work in the morning so when he arrived back in the early afternoon we threw on warm weather running clothes and were out the door. I mentioned the day before that we were going to try and run around Manhattan and we ended up doing just that. We ran from our place on the Upper East Side down along the East River to Battery Park.
We stopped and took some pictures of the Statue of Liberty and got stuck in some construction and tourist crowds. But once we broke free we ran up along the Hudson River on the west side of the city. The city has done an amazing job of cleaning up the west side with beautiful parks and paved running/biking paths all the way up to the George Washington Bridge. We didn’t run quite that far but we definitely have before and it is really picturesque.
Stanley photo bombed us.
We stopped at Chelsea Piers at the 11 mile mark and had a brief water break and tried out a new fuel option I came across. Pocketfuel Naturals has little nut butter packs that look similar to what Gu comes in. I personally have never really liked the taste or texture of Gu but found this product to be intriguing. I liked the idea of using a natural fat and sugar source along with natural protein. The combination is excellent for helping to keep your glycogen stores going and to also help them stick with you. I was really excited to try this out and see how it would work on the road.
Photo from http://www.pocketfuelnaturals.com
At our break my husband and I split a packet which contains 170 calories. The chocolate hazelnut flavor was delicious. I did need water afterwards as I felt like a dog when they get peanut butter stuck on the roof of their mouth. But a quick sip of water was all I needed. Unlike other fueling options that are high in sugar, it didn’t leave me feeling thirsty as we continued on our run.
We continued on towards home and finished with 17 miles in the books. When we arrived home the first thing my husband mentioned was how well the Pocketfuel worked for him. I totally agreed and am really happy to have this option for long run training.
When we got back we stopped and picked up a lot of sparkling water, sandwiches and some pineapple. It was the perfect end to our run.
I then went and got a pedicure. Nothing feels better than sitting in that massage chair and giving your feet some special attention after a long run.
I hope everyone is having a great weekend and hopefully enjoying some long runs or fun races. A special good luck and shout out to all the runners competing in the London Marathon even though by now it is likely wrapping up!
Happy running!
I love the toes! Please come to my house and clean… I need to catch your excitement on cleaning.
I am also jealous you were able to get a long run in… That didn’t work out for me this week. Nice job! 🙂
Thanks it has been awhile since we were able to do one. It was just nice to take our time and do one. Mentally it is reassuring to know you can still do it. There will be a lot of these coming up.
I wish my toes looked like that–but I have a nervous/bored habit of picking at them. And pocket fuel sounds interesting? And it doesn’t feel overly rich while in the middle of a run? Intriguing. I’m a big fan of sports beans, but I am terrified of Gu–too many stories of vomming. I have several packets of the stuff but I can’t bring myself to try it, haha.
I was afraid it would be too rich as well. But it was just so simple, basically like a shot of peanut butter. A quick sip of water and I was good to go. We both found it to work really well. My husband was struggling at around mile 11 and he said that it really helped him get over the hump.
You’re amazing! And that’s the perfect area to run!
Thanks. It was perfect area to run. We were just saying that NYC is really a great running city.
That sounds like the perfect Saturday!
It really was. We finished it off at my first Bar Mitzvah and it was pretty rocking!
Yum, sparkling water, sandwiches, and pineapple!! That definitely sounds like an amaaazing post run meal!!! Mmmm!!! Great job on your run!! Way to be tough and fabulous!!
Ha, thank you. Tough and fabulous I like that!
And you are both!! 🙂
Thanks. As are you!
🙂 🙂 Thank you!
I’m so enjoying this warm weather! It’s doing wonders for my mood after this ridiculously long and cold winter. Nice job on 17 miles and btw I also enjoy cleaning, it’s weirdly stress relieving.
Yes this weather has definitely left me a nicer person. Glad someone else finds cleaning enjoyable.
Nut butter sounds great for run fuel! I would definitely try that. Are the packets a similar size than GU or bigger? (170 calories is almost double what GU has).
It probably is a bit bigger than a GU pack. On the other hand if you think about it peanut butter has almost 200 calories in 2 tablespoons so I guess it didn’t strike me as too shockingly awful. I think that despite the higher calories you are consuming something that is likely much more naturally healthy for you.
I don’t mind the calories per se, just wondering how a bigger portion / higher calories would affect me on the run.
Hooray for spring!!! I know what you mean about cleaning – I secretly enjoy it. I cannot stand when there’s a mess (but there always is, sigh)
Well I think once kids are in the picture “clean” takes a different meaning. When Rock read this post I heard him say out loud, “Yes that is weird!” At least we have a clean home 🙂
Haha, yes! Having kids is like living in a haunted house. You clean one room, leave it for 10 seconds, come back and it’s a total mess! #ghostortoddler?